Closure valve for the outlet port of a pressure vessel



June 13, 1967 J. MERCIEF? 3,324,833

CLOSURE VALVE FOR THE OUTLET PORT OF A PRESSURE VESSEL Original Filed June .27, 1961 FIG United States Patent 3,324,883 CLOSURE VALVE FOR THE OUTLET PORT OF A PRESSURE VESSEL Jean Mercier, 1185 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10028 Original application June 27, 1961, Ser. No. 120,083, now

Patent No. 3,148,702, dated Sept. 15, 1964. Divided and this application Sept. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 394,236

4 Claims. (Cl. 137-599.2)

This application is a division of application Ser. No. 120,083, now Patent No. 3,148,702.

This invention relates to the closure of the outlet port of a container for fluid, and more particularly to a closure valve for a pressure accumulator of the type having a rigid container to be filled with fluid, usually oil and air under pressure and having a deformable partition intervening between such fluids.

When oil is pumped into the liquid outlet port of the container on one side of the partition it will deform the latter and compress the air previously charged into the container on the other side of the partition.

In use of the accumulator, when the outlet port of the accumulator is opened, the partition in expanding will force the oil from the container through the outlet port to the hydraulic device to be operated.

Where a valve is used to control said outlet port, unless such valve remains open until substantially all of the oil in the container is expelled, the trapped oil will not be available for useful purposes. Where, however, the partition when expanding is forced against and extrudes past the closure valve, it is likely to become pinched or torn with resultant failure of the equipment.

It is accordingly among the objects of the invention to provide a closure valve for the outlet port of a pressure accumulator of the above type, which closure valve has but few sturdy parts that may readily be assembled and are not likely to become out of order and which valve will remain open until substantially all of the oil in the accumulator is expelled, yet will dependably close before the partition in the container can be extruded past such closure valve.

Another object is to provide a valve for the liquid port of the accumulator which will provide a greater flow in one direction than the other through said port and will close only when substantially all the liquid has been expelled from the accumulator by the expanding partition.

According to the invention these objects are accomplished by the arrangement and combination of elements hereinafter described, and particularly recited in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pressure vessel according to one embodiment of the invention, and

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view on an enlarged scale of the lower end of the pressure vessel.

Referring now to the drawings, in FIG. 1 there is shown a pressure vessel, i llustratively a pressure accumulator comprising a container or pressure vessel 10, preferably of strong rigid material, such as steel, cast aluminum or the like, capable of withstanding high pressures. The container may be spherical or cyilindro-spherical as desired and has a deformable partition B intervening between axially aligned openings 12 and 63 therein. Preferably, the partition is a collapsible and expansible bladder which desirably is of resilient material such as rubber or synthetic plastic of like physical characteristics which in undistended, substantially unstretched condition is smaller than the cavity of the container and the opening 12 which 3 $24,883 Patented June 13, 1967 ice defines the gas inlet port leads into the bladder B and is controlled by a valve 14.

Means are provided to close the opening 63. Such means desirably comprises an outlet closure assembly 60 secured in said opening 63.

The closure assembly 60 comprises a tubular member 66 having an axial bore 60 which is secured in the liquid port 63 of the container 10 by means of a nut 67, the flange 68 at the lower end of which reacts against the flange 69 on the tubular member 66 to retain said flange against the lower end of tubular portion 70 of opening 63.

Secured in the upper end of tubular member 66 and positioned in the container is an intermediate tubular member 72 which has an outwardly extending lateral flange 73 at its upper end designed to seat against the adjacent upper end of tubular member 66, a gasket 74 intervening to define a seal. Although the intermediate tubular member 72 may be secured in tubular member 66 in any suitable manner, it is desirably retained therein by complementary screw threads 75. The intermediate tubular member 72 has a floor 76 with a plurality of passageways 77 therethrough extending parallel to the axis thereof and an axial bore 78 extends through said intermediate tubular member 72 and through an extension 79 integral therewith, the diameter of the bore 78 being enlarged in said extension 79 as at 81.

The inner edge 85 of the flange 73 is desirably beveled to define a seat for a valve head 86. As shown in FIG. 2, the valve head 86 is substantially conical as at 87 on its undersurface and has an axial stem 88 extending through the bore 78. The valve head is retained against its seat by means of a coil spring 87 compressed between the annular shoulder formed by the enlargement 81 of bore 78 and a collar 91 affixed to the outer end of the valve stem.

As shown in FIG. 2, the surface of the valve head facing toward the interior of the accumulator is concave and has an axial opening 92 in communication with an axial bore 93 in the valve stem and defining a seat for a ball valve 94.

The valve stem 88 has transverse bores 95 leading into the axial bore 93 thereof and adapted to provide communication between passageways 77 and the axialopening 92 in the valve head.

Afiixed to the concave surface of the valve head 86 and straddling the ball 94 is a substantially U-shaped bracket 96, the cross piece 97 of which mounts a curved perforated disc 98 aflixed thereto as by a rivet 99. As is clearly shown in FIG. 2, the periphery of the disc is retained against the periphery 101 of the valve head 86. The bracket 96 serves as a guideway for the ball 94 to prevent lateral displacement thereof.

Slidably mounted in the axial bore 93 in the valve stem 88 is a rod 103, the upper end 104 of which is designed to react against the ball 94 to move the latter off its seat 92. The lower end 105- of the rod 103 extends through an axial bore 106 in a washer 107 and in a plug 108, the latter having a gasket 109 encompassing the rod to define a seal. The end 105 of the rod reacts against the head 111 of a button 112 slidably mounted in the bore 113 of a screw 114 threaded into the lower end 115 of the bore 60 of tubular member 66, said screw urging said plug and said washer against an annular shoulder 116 in said bore to retain the parts assembled.

In the normal position of said button, when the head thereof is seated against annular shoulder 117, the ball 94 will be on its seat 92 as is clearly shown in the drawings. If desired, a spring 100 may be provided to urge the ball 94 against its seat.

A passageway 121 extends laterally through the tubular member 66 leading into the bore 60 thereof and is controlled by a valve 122. A lateral bore 123 also extends through the tubular member 66 into the bore 60 thereof and a coupling 124 is connected thereto.

In the operation of the unit, when oil under pressure flows through coupling 124, it will pass into the bore 60', thence through passageways 77 to react against the conical surface of valve head 86 to lift the latter off its seat 85 so that a large opening will be provided for admission of fluid to the accumulator. In addition, the fluid under pressure will also pass through bores 95 to react against ball valve 94 to move the latter off its seat 92 so that a small quantity of fluid will also pass therethrough and through disc 98 into the accumulator.

When the admission of fluid into the accumulator through coupling 124 has been completed and the flow has stopped, the coil spring 89 will move the valve head 86 against its seat 85 and the pressure of the fluid in the accumulator, as well as the associated coil spring 100 will also move ball 94 against its seat to close ofl flow from the accumulator.

If it is desired to cause fluid to be discharged from the accumulator, with the coupling 124 now connected through a suitable valve to the hydraulic unit to be actuated, it is merely necessary to press button 112. This will lift rod 103- which in turn will lift the ball valve )4 off its seat 92 so that fluid may pass through the perforated disc 98 past the unseated ball 94, through opening 92, bores 95, passageways 77, bore 60', through coupling 124. It is apparent that such flow would be relatively small due to the small size of opening 92.

When the accumulator is empty the expanding bladder B will press against the curved disc 98. By reason of the relatively small size of the perforations thereof, no extrusion of the bladder will occur.

With the construction above described, a closure member is provided which will permit relatively large flow of fluid into the accumulator for charging thereof, yet will permit relatively small flow from the accumulator when desired, all with assurance that when substantially all of the oil is discharged from the accumulator, the outlet port will be closed without likelihood of extrusion of the bladder.

As many changes could be made in the above construction, and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all mat ter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Valve means for controlling the flow of fluid from the outlet port of a pressure vessel of the type having a rigid container with an outlet port and a deformable partition intervening between the inlet and outlet port of said pressure vessel, said valve means comprising a tubular member adapted to be positioned in such outlet port, with its inner end in such container, the inner end of said member defining a valve seat, said tubular member having a central bore and a passageway extending substantially parallel to said central bore, said passageway having an outlet, a valve stem slidably mounted in said central bore, said stem having a valve head at its inner end, resilient means reacting against said stem normally retaining said valve head on said seat, said stem and said valve head having an axial bore therethrough, a substantially transverse bore leading into said axial bore in said stem, and in communication at its other end with said passageway, the bore in said valve head defining a second valve seat, a valve member adapted to be positioned on said second seat to close the latter, a perforated plate secured to the inner surface of said valve head at the periphery thereof and extending over the valve head, and means to move said valve member off its seat for flow of fluid through the axial bore in the valve head into said passageway.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which a rod is slidably mounted in the bore of said valve stem and reacts against said valve member to move the latter off its seat.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said valve member is a ball and resilient means react against said ball to retain the latter against its seat.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which said valve member is a ball, resilient means reacts against said ball to retain the latter against its seat and a rod is slidably mounted in the bore ofsaid valve stem and reacts against said ball to move the latter off its seat.

No references cited.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner.

D. H. LAMBERT, Assistant Examiner. 

1. VALVE MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE FLOW OF FLUID FROM THE OUTLET PORT OF A PRESSURE VESSEL OF THE TYPE HAVING A RIGID CONTAINER WITH AN OUTLET PORT AND A DEFORMABLE PARTITION INTERVENING BETWEEN THE INLET AND OUTLET PORT OF SAID PRESSURE VESSEL, SAID VALVE MEANS COMPRISING A TUBULAR MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED IN SUCH OUTLET PORT, WITH ITS INNER END IN SUCH CONTAINER, THE INNER END OF SAID MEMBER DEFINING A VALVE SEAT, SAID TUBULAR MEMBER HAVING A CENTRAL BORE AND A PASSAGEWAY EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID CENTRAL BORE, SAID PASSAGEWAY HAVING AN OUTLET, A VALVE STEM SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID CENTRAL BORE, SAIS STEM HAVING A VALVE HEAD AT ITS INNER END, RESILIENT MEANS REACTING AGAINST SAID STEM NORMALLY RETAINING SAID VALVE HEAD ON SAID SEAT, SAID STEM AND SAID VALVE HEAD HAVING AN AXIAL BORE THERETHROUGH, A SUBSTANTIALLY TRANSVERSE BORE LEADING INTO SAID AXIAL BORE IN SAID STEM, AND IN COMMUNICATION AT ITS OTHER END WITH SAID PASSAGEWAY, THE BORE IN SAID VALVE HEAD DEFINING A SECOND VALVE SEAT, A VALVE MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED ON SAID SECOND SEAT TO CLOSE THE LATTER A PERFORATED PLATE SECURED TO THE INNER SURFACE OF SAID VALVE HEAD AT THE PERIPHERY THEREOF AND EXTENDING OVER THE VALVE HEAD, AND MEANS TO MOVE SAID VALVE MEMBER OFF ITS SEAT FOR FLOW OF FLUID THROUGH THE AXIAL BORE IN THE VALVE HEAD INTO SAID PASSAGEWAY. 